V. Epiphany

Story so far:
The college life turned out to be more fun than they had anticipated. Suhas had invited Siri and her group to his college fest and Siri was excited, to say the least, she even wanted to introduce Nikhila to Varun, the both of whom she had enjoyed teasing to the core. They were just teasing them to be a couple even before they had met and little did they know they started talking to each other without their knowledge and over time have grown fond of each other. What will happen to their story?Read on…

. . .

Siri had spent most of her under graduation making the most of the college life. However, a couple of times she did tell herself that she would concentrate more on her studies than roam around. Her love life was taking a form of itself and that was one thing that motivated her even more. But she could never say no to the fun. She always loved having and making fun. The studies could be done tomorrow, but this was the ideal time to have a little fun. She had gotten deep into that. So much that when her whole class decided to bunk, she even jumped the college fence almost getting caught just to watch a movie. There was the adrenaline rush that she liked, perhaps. Meanwhile, Suhas and her were hitting it off quite well and she was truly and deeply in love, so much that she wouldn’t marry anyone else. Earlier she did say that the ball was in Suhas’s court and that if he manages to convince her parents she was ready to get married to him. But now, that transcended to marrying only him and no one else. Moreover, as she was nearing the end of her college, her family is bringing some proposals that she should start looking into. Marriage was a big process. It involves finding the right partner which is the most tedious process and it takes quite a lot of time, sometimes years even. And her parents thought it was the ideal time to start looking for potential matches and by the time she narrows down to one, she will either be working or pursuing her higher studies. However, that may be the case, she had already made up her mind who would be her husband and there couldn’t be anyone else. She didn’t even want to think of that scenario. For now, she was very much happy in love and would like to stay the same.

Meanwhile, amid disagreements, arguments and mutual understanding, Varun and Nikhila were adjusting to each others’ unknown sides. But they haven’t confessed their liking towards each other yet, which was quite obvious if anyone saw. The most obvious people who should have seen all this were Suhas and Siri, their best friends they were. Siri was busy in her own world and was unaware of what was happening. So, was the case with Suhas. Perhaps, love does that to people where they immerse themselves in it and the other people sort of fade away for a while. Varun was getting more and more fond of Nikhila but he wasn’t sure how to convey his feelings to her. If he had managed to propose and get a favorable response, they could have started planning a couple dates and it would be more glorious than it already was. But neither Varun nor Nikhila had made the first step in that direction. But he decided to use his quirkiness which he believed was a smart way he could tell her which will also be easier for her to understand and had hoped that the things will work out.

One fine day, Varun decided to give Nikhila subtle hints that he liked her. During one of their talks, he mentioned about the future, their future and cleverly slipped the idea of marriage. Nikhila did very much like the idea of their union but was being reserved with what was happening back at her home. There had been a love marriage in her family and the whole family wasn’t too happy with that. And if she brings up about her love marriage, the things might not go well. So, she asked Varun for some time for the things in the family to get settled up and to see where the things between them will lead to. And then, maybe then they could bring that topic back. Varun knew that what she meant was an indirect rejection and that she couldn’t directly say no. This dis hurt him a bit and later he pondered over that for a while. He thought to himself that it might not be the ideal time for marriage anyway. He was still studying and he wasn’t personally and financially settled yet. Marriage would be a very big leap from his current frame of mind. He concluded that once he had settled down with a job and was financially secure, then he could think of getting married or even a relationship.

A little heartbroken and a bit bruised ego might be the case, he had made a decision to make the best of his college and secure the future the way he had dreamt of. But he was still in good terms with Nikhila, and they still hung out together along with the whole gang. The college was getting to an end and they a major decision to make about their future. There were two streams – one being higher education and the other being work for a year or so and then do higher education. Varun had already decided to go for higher studies. Suhas was on the similar thought process as Varun. He was still a student and he would have to show that he was capable of taking care of Siri to her parents, which meant that he needed a secure well-paid job before he could ask Siri’s parents for her hand. And higher studies seemed to show promising future options for him. The rest of the group were on a similar page and the last year of their college saw them working towards their future.

The plan was simple – get through the final year of graduation and then take up the competitive exams for the higher studies. Almost everyone had the same idea. Varun and Nikhila were preparing for studying abroad, while the rest were planning to do the management or masters in the same country. And there was no way Suhas and Siri could stay that far away from each other. While the plan was simple, certain things changed for Siri. Her gang and she moved to a better house which gave them the much-needed freedom. There used to a curfew earlier and now in the new house, there was no one to keep a track of their timings. And that meant that she had much more freedom to roam and meet Suhas whenever she wanted. And before they knew time flew by and they were all entangled in project works, practicals and exams. Nikhila and Varun went abroad for higher studies, both of them different countries. Suhas and Siri didn’t go abroad but were pursuing higher studies in different states. The distance now was way too much between them. Ashish and Deeksha took up a job after their college ended. Siri decided to make the best of the distance and concentrate more on studies. She had a lot of plans for the future. Suhas had tuned himself to get the best job he possibly can before he could ask for Siri’s hand. All of the members of the gang were in different cities and countries, but they were always connected with each other and always there if they needed each other. As time passed, Suhas was feeling the effects of the long distance relationship, but he was confident in fulfilling his dream, both his job and her. He was just sure of it. Meanwhile, in another city Siri got a two-wheeler and was making the most of the new city, exploring every nook and corner of the city without leaving any stone unturned. If the city wasn’t enough, she shifted to the surrounding cities, hills, valleys. Nothing was spared. No one knew how she managed the academics and traveling so much. Deeksha and Ashish were slowly settling in their new jobs in their own city. She seemed to have settled well in her job while Ashish was getting the corporate run down a couple months after he had joined the organization. While, on the other side of the world, Varun had settled in the friendliest country and was exploring the city and getting adjusted.

. . .

Will distance affect their friendship? How will Siri and Suhas manage the distance between them? What does the future hold for all of them?(To be continued …)